


A Joyful Noise

by Ericine



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Cardassian Occupation, El-Aurian Culture, F/F, Femslash, Home, Kissing, Storytelling, Time Travel, listening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 15:19:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14547603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ericine/pseuds/Ericine
Summary: As it turns out, the first time Guinan met Ro Laren was actually just a really long first date.





	A Joyful Noise

**Author's Note:**

> For the-tiny-kravist on Tumblr! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to write this. <3

Ro Laren has lasted much longer on the  _ Enterprise _ than she thought possible, and things are different now than they used to be. But also the same.

Around eighty percent of the time she’s in Ten-Forward, she sits alone. The crew doesn’t try to approach her anymore, beyond a friendly smile from Dr. Crusher or Counselor Troi. But things also feel a bit more like home. They leave her be because they know she likes it that way. They don’t resent her for it because they understand who she is and what she wants. As much anyone does, anyway.

What she looks forward to is someone who also barely speaks to her but has a way of communicating in a way that’s never seemed invasive.

Guinan can say so much with just a few words. She told Laren once that it was because she listens correctly, but listening is not an active thing, so Laren doesn’t get it.

Anyway, Guinan’s somehow managing to feel distant tonight despite doing all the things she normally does. She tends bar. She brings customers their orders. She even talks to a few people, but it feels different.

“So, is this you having a bad day?” she asks, when Guinan brings over their drinks - both of them - and sits down.

Guinan looks thoughtful. “Well, I wouldn’t say it’s the worst day ever, but as far as days go, this one has been neither good nor bad.”

“You just seem different,” Laren says.

Guinan nods. “Well, I am. I’m different every day, but I guess today it’s a little more noticeable.”

Laren can’t believe she’s saying what she’s saying. “Do you want to talk about why?”

Guinan smiles. “You know, I think this helped me enough. But I guess we’ll see.”

They finish their drinks in comfortable silence.

* * *

Laren’s in engineering, needing to speak to Geordi about something, but he’s giving instructions to his staff. Counselor Troi stands with her. Maybe they’re waiting. Geordi’s popular today.

And it’s a weird day. Being in engineering after hours is just a little uncommon, but Guinan was more so, and any situation in which she’s caught up with Counselor Troi always ends up being a memorable experience. She really can’t stand the counselor’s abilities, and they’ve reached a bit of an understanding on that, but Laren now thinks about asking her about Guinan, which is (1) unethical on a bunch of different levels and (2) the first time she’s ever really thought that Troi’s empathy could help her outside of a mission

Of course, she’s feeling conflicted enough about  _ that _ that Troi grants herself one curious glance toward Laren but says nothing.

Then, there’s a much-too-bright light, a roaring in her ears, and Laren’s reaching for Troi because she somehow  _ knows _ she’s falling, even though she can’t see anything, but she can’t do much because she’s falling too.

* * *

_ “Are you Borgin’ kidding me?” _

Laren blinks awake to find her and Geordi sprawled across the floor, Troi lying across both of their laps.

Her head buzzes but doesn’t hurt, surprisingly. But that also doesn’t help her very much, because the type of head pain often helps Laren figure out what anomaly she’s gone through. “Different time or different universe?” she asks tiredly. She checks. The counselor is breathing. She’ll wake up soon. Geordi somehow manages to have a sufficient-enough medical tricorder on him to confirm that much.

“I have no idea. Let’s figure it out. I was supposed to learn curling tonight!”

Laren raises an eyebrow. “The sport where you brush the thing and push it across the ice?”

“Commander Riker said it would be fun,” shrugs Geordi.

Laren rolls her eyes, reaches for her equipment to follow protocol: take random readings and try to make sense of where they are.Shefinds it’s not there. “My first instinct wasn’t to grab equipment,” she mutters.

“No,” Troi says, eyes still closed. She reaches for Laren’s hands, and Laren doesn’t let go. The woman’s woozy enough. “Your first instinct was to grab for me. Thank you, Ro.”

She can tell that Troi’s about to reach across for Geordi’s hands too, and she’s saved from the resulting overbearing display of love so typical of the  _ Enterprise _ when the door to their room opens.

Laren’s phaser is something she does have with her. It’s out and pointed at the door before Geordi or Troi have had a chance to move.

The figure at the door raises its hands. It is little more than a silhouette in this lighting, but the voice is unmistakable.

“I’m here to help.”

Geordi swallows his words down. Troi gives Laren’s hand a firm squeeze to remind her not to say anything.

The figure steps forward, just a bit younger. Just a bit more wide-eyed and peppy. “I’m Guinan. Follow me. I'll explain everything.”

* * *

They’ve introduced themselves as Rowan, Diana, and Greg respectively. Laren knows right away that Guinan doesn’t believe them, but no one calls anyone else out. The less they know about each other, the better (except for the part where three of them already know Guinan).

“So it  _ is _ time travel,” says Geordi.

“Yes!” says Guinan, looking pleased. “You guys know about that, so I can say that it is time travel.”

“Do you know where we are?” asks Troi.

“Some Humans call it 2122,” answers Guinan. “Does that mean something to you?”

Laren shrugs. “Sure. Why not?”

“Long time before you, maybe,” says Guinan. She doesn’t wait for a response; she knows better. “My time period is dragging people here. The solution is complicated--” Geordi’s eyes light up, but Laren catches Guinan’s eye and shakes her head; they don’t have time for this right now. “--but you can basically say that time is sick. It has a, uh, cold? And it’s sending people to this general period. It has been for a while. So some of us are working on a - cure, I guess you could say? But in the meantime, we’ve figured out how to send you back. And the good thing is that once you get sent, chances of you getting sent back are - well, untested. But we haven’t seen anyone yet, and this has been happening for a few orbits, but a few orbits isn’t that long? Besides, with so many people, you get so many different stories. Sometimes, you have to be secretive, but people always need listeners. Usually, anyway. There’s this one species where--well, anyway."  


Laren watches Troi and Geordi exchange a look - that means a long time, probably. They probably don’t have much to worry about. But it also seems too easy; time travel’s always convoluted, the kind of thing that takes over a half hour of paperwork. They’re at maybe fifteen minutes of a general incident report right now.

These hallways they’re walking through now are lovely - earthy and lush but indoors. The air ventilation is natural, and even though she can tell that they’re well-protected from the elements, Laren feels a little like she’s walking through the nicest cave she’s ever been in, the kind of places she dreamt of living in as a little girl under the Cardassian occupation. Did all of the El-Aurian look like this? Had the Borg come in and destroyed all of this? It’s the kind of thing she would go talk to Guinan about right now - her Guinan - if she could.

They stop by some chambers that appear to have windows that let in outside light, which sparkles against the richly-colored walls. “You can stay here for the night,” Guinan says. “We need to wait for the right alignment with our sun to power the power source that will get you home.”

Geordi grimaces. “How long is that going to take?”

“One sleep cycle?” Guinan shrugs.

“But it’s still light out,” says Troi. “And when we left our world, it was in the middle of the day. Do you think there is any other way we can occupy ourselves in the meantime? Can we help in any way?”

Guinan nods slowly. “I don’t think I need to warn you about the dangers of you interacting with too many people from this time. Those of us assigned to work on the project have very specific roles. I’m really the only person you’re allowed to interact with, and there’s a lot I have to keep secret. For example, I already know that you’ve come in contact with my species before from the way you speak to me. I will keep that a secret, but it’s best you stay in this part of the center.”

“Understood,” says Troi easily. “We can occupy ourselves, no problem. Thank you for helping us get home.” There’s a hint of finality in her voice, but Laren’s thinking about something Guinan said and her own desire to get to know her better.

“If it’s just a matter of time,” begins Laren, “then do you have much to do for the rest of the time we’re here?” Guinan shakes her head. “Stay and listen to us.”

Geordi’s brow furrows. “What if we let something drop from the future?”

“You mentioned hearing people’s stories,” Laren says to Guinan. “So I guess that’s not as much of a concern for you?”

“Listening, yes. I admit that the line is pretty thin, but I’m allowed to listen to plenty of things you say.”

Geordi looks to Troi. “I guess you’re technically the one in charge, Counselor.

Troi studies the scene before her, and then her face breaks into the serenest of smiles. Laren doesn’t know why she looks that way, but she kind of hates it.

“We’ll join you for a meal,” Troi says. “But Geordi and I have a little bit of business to discuss first.

“You do,” Laren says, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, yes, that’s why we were in line,” Troi replies much too easily. “We’ll join you for dinner.”

* * *

They really are kept to a limited area, but that happens to include the smallest of leisure areas that includes a lake barely big enough to swim in, as well as a waterfall that’s less of a waterfall and more of water flowing slowly and unevenly over some rocks. Five people would feel crowded in this room, so Laren’s happy it’s just them two.

She can’t tell Guinan anything about the Cardassian occupation and Starfleet, which puts a huge area of her life off limits, but specific stories, minus the context, are okay.

“I’m not the most talkative person,” Laren says, to start things off.

“That’s okay,” says Guinan. She wears a version of what Laren has seen her wear in Ten-Forward so often: the drape-y fabric in rich red that matches some of the flowers growing in this cave system. “We can also just sit here. Your earring looks beautiful.”

There’s something about the earnest way that she leans forward that reminds Laren of civilians on Earth who are her age. They haven’t lived through war and didn’t need to go through rigorous training for their jobs. Watching them interact looked kind of like this - idyllic, relaxing. She didn’t like it then, but now, she kind of finds it nice. “Thanks. So, um, I kind of had to leave the place where I was born and brought up. It wasn’t--um, good.” That seems vague enough to not tell Guinan about what happened. She gestures to her ear. “So this is kind of a symbol. I don’t believe in what it stands for to my people, but it’s also become a symbol of my people. So I wear it. I wear it wrong, but I wear it.”

“You negotiated your identity,” says Guinan, and even now, younger, she has something about her that makes her say extremely profound things like she’s talking about something as casual as running a ship diagnostic. “Would you like some tea? I would offer something a little more fancy, but I’m pretty bad at mixing drinks.”

Laren bites back her smile. “Sure.”

* * *

They end up walking to dinner barefoot because they’ve been wading in the stream with their tea. Laren is nervous about having to tell stories all through dinner as well - it’s been going okay. Mostly, she’s talked about isolated incidents with what little family she remembers and her colleagues from the  _ Enterprise _ : holodeck hangouts, the occasional poker game, and some of the ship’s gossip that she hasn’t been able to block out (no names, of course). Guinan tells her a little about the how she gardens and raises a type of shellfish. That’s what they’re having for dinner now.

There’s no need to worry, though, because Troi keeps them all enraptured with vague stories about her childhood, one of which Laren recognizes as Betazoid myths turned into “childhood stories” about Deanna and her family. Guinan brings them different sweeteners for their tea. Laren doesn’t remember having these very often, but perhaps they were some of the mysterious ingredients mixed into their drinks in Ten-Forward.

Laren has a difficult relationship with the counselor, but here and now, she’s really grateful for her ability to hold the attention of an entire room if she wants. It gets them through dinner, and by then, all three of the  _ Enterprise _ crew members are feeling a little sleepy.

“Time travel can cause increased fatigue, though it may take your body a while to process what’s happened and feel the effects,” Guinan says helpfully. “You can get some shuteye. The beds are very comfortable - everyone says so.”

Troi and Geordi exchange a glance. “Maybe we’ll go for a little wade before bed,” Geordi suggests. “If I can’t have ice, I’ll take water.” Guinan looks at him curiously. “Do you have winter sports on El--I mean, here?”

Guinan nods. “It’s a bit hard to balance on your hands, but you get the hang of it.” She pauses and takes in the scene in front of her. “I need to check on your departure time. I’ll be back to say goodnight. Let me know if you like to listen to lullabies while you’re sleeping - we have a great selection.”

She disappears around the corner, and Laren whirls around to face Troi and Geordi, who are sitting there looking far too satisfied for her taste.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?” Geordi laughs, leaning back in his chair. “You’ve got everything down just fine. We’re just being helpful.”

“Stop being helpful.”

“I mean, you only have so much time here,” Troi says kindly. “You’d might as well enjoy yourself.”

“Ro likes Guinan,” Geordi sing-songs.

“Well, from here, it looks a lot like Guinan also likes Ro,” Troi says, grinning.

“That’s not what’s happening,” Ro protests, but she can feel the blush creeping up in her cheeks to give her away.

“It’s fine. We won’t tell anyone,” Troi says warmly. “It’s nice, honestly, watching you two. You deserve something nice.”

“We’re going home tomorrow,” says Laren. “And then what? We walk into Ten-Forward like nothing happened?”

“Well, if we’re right, then for Guinan, it’s already happened,” says Geordi. “She’s good with this kind of thing. I wouldn’t worry.” At Laren’s face, he shrugs. “You don’t have to like, pledge your lives together. Just go take her dancing. Or whatever they do on this planet.”

“Geordi and I are going to bed,” Troi says, with a wink. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

* * *

When Guinan comes back and finds the other two gone, she doesn’t look too concerned. “So, can I get you a lullaby before bed? I have some recordings. We also have this kind of - animal? It can sing some things to you that it’s memorized from other sources. Some people like it. Would you?”

Laren’s about to turn her down and suggest they go back to the water when she realizes that she’s never had anyone sing to her before bed, nor as she really tried any music. She tells Guinan so, and Guinan grins. “Well, would you want to try that kind of thing?

This is how they end up lying on the floor in Laren’s makeshift room, as a rainbow-colored bird chirps out something that sounds a lot more like wind chimes than actual singing. Laren likes it.

Guinan is watching Laren listen to the music. “I guess you haven’t done anything like this before?”

Laren thinks of babies screaming in the middle of the night, the occasional hard sound of the Cardassians’ weapons hitting Bajoran bone. “No. I used to sleep on the floor, though, like this. I guess it’s a little easier when you’re young, but I always found it kind of comfortable.”

The bird continues to sing, and Laren looks over at Guinan, who seems to almost be mouthing the sounds along with the bird. Could El-Aurians sound like that when they sang? The birds were supposed to be singing recorded songs, so maybe? She adds that to the list of questions she’ll ask Guinan when she gets back, but then Guinan takes her hand in hers, and Laren forgets all about it.

She swallows. “So, um, do you bond like this with all of the time travelers who are coming through here?”

“No. Does it bother you?”

Guinan would forgive her, she thinks, if this is a bad decision. But something tells her that it’s not. Laren turns on her side. “No,” she whispers, and kisses her, long and lovely.  


She knows that lullabies are supposed to help people sleep easier, but the two of them end up staying up most of the night. Laren's too enraptured by the song.

* * *

They kiss one more time, before Guinan sends the three  _ Enterprise  _ members back in what will go down in Starfleet history as the least complicated case of time travel ever recorded in Starfleet - they also get back within five minutes of their original departure, so the ship has barely had time to go to red alert. It’s fine with Laren. She doesn’t want to ask too much. Guinan does, after all, have to wait some two hundred years before talking to her about it.

After they fill everyone in on what’s going on, Laren excuses herself to Ten-Forward.

Troi and Geordi smile their stupid smiles and say nothing.

* * *

 

"Are you sure that was the best call?" Geordi asks Deanna later, as they enter the turbolift on the way to their respective quarters.

Deanna shrugs. "It's what they both wanted. Besides, Guinan's a significant part of why she said what she said."

"What did Ro say?"

The turbolift doors open, and Deanna beams. "She called the _Enterprise_ 'home,'" she says. She steps out. "Goodnight, Geordi."

* * *

Upon arriving, Laren realizes that she’s not really sure what to say. They kissed twice in two hundred years. Would Guinan even relate to her the same way that she did then? Was there any point in continuing what happened? Was that kind of thing appropriate for El-Aurians?

She finds Guinan bent over at the bar, dealing with something. Laren waits for her to finish, and then when she stands, their eyes meet.

“How was the trip?” Guinan asks.

Laren sighs, letting out a small laugh. “I have...questions.”

Guinan nods. “Well, I’m closing early tonight. I want to try out a new holodeck program. Want to join? It’s a good one for questions.”

Laren’s expecting the lush cave landscape - it’s the kind of thing Guinan would do. But when the birds appear and begin to sing their chime songs, she finds herself welling up. “Sorry,” she whispers, as they sit together. “For me, it's just a few minutes ago."  


Guinan takes her hand and nods. “It’s fine. We have time,” she says simply.


End file.
